Gujarat ATS nabs accused in RDX landing case in which Dawood was involved

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad has nabbed an accused in the 1993 Gosabara RDX and arms landing case, in which fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim has been named as a key conspirator, from Mumbai.

Based on a tip-off, the ATS team arrested Abdulsattar Batliwala in suburban Khar in Mumbai on Saturday and brought him to Ahmedabad on Sunday, it said in a release.

Batliwala was a part of the conspiracy whereby Dawood Ibrahim sent a huge cache of RDX and arms, including AK-47 rifles to Gujarat from Karachi via sea route in 1993, ATS said. The objective was to take revenge for the Babri masjid demolition.

The contraband landed on Gosabara coast in Porbandar district of Gujarat in 1993, and was distributed to Dawood’s associates and other conspirators in Mumbai, Surat and Uttar Pradesh, it said.

According to the ATS, Batliwala was present at a meeting called by Dawood in Dubai to plan out the landing at Gosabara.

Police had recovered five AK-47 rifles, an AK-56 rifle, 43 hand grenades and 3,011 cartridges during the probe.

Till now, around 40 persons have been arrested while 16 accused are still at large, including Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon, Anis Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel.